In order to reduce regional disparities, governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America have initiated new regional development strategies based on national decentralisation policies. The management level of the new decentralised administrative units (districts, regions or municipalities), however, is rarely commensurate with the new requirements.
Technische Universität Dortmund
| Location | The TU Dortmund University, with more than 24,000 students, combines academic tradition with high-quality teaching. Consistent with its mission, the University has been developing innovative programmes with a focus on new teaching and research content since 1968. The School of Spatial Planning, the first and largest planning school in Germany, initiated the SPRING programme in 1984.
SPRING offers a Master’s degree (M.Sc.) in Regional or Urban Development Planning and Management jointly within an international university network:
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| Course focus | In order to reduce regional disparities, governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America have initiated new regional development strategies based on national decentralisation policies. The management level of the new decentralised administrative units (districts, regions or munici- palities), however, is rarely commensurate with the new requirements.
Planners are not only increasingly challenged to overcome the bound- aries between administrative sectors and bridge the gap between formulating a plan and implementing a programme but also cope with the implications of climate change on the planning process. New qualifications are required, ranging from planning competence to management skills, i.e., to make programmes operational with respect to financial requirements and restrictions or to moderate participatory processes. SPRING places its emphasis on development management at an intermediate level between macro-regional and community-based planning. |
| Target group | Practitioners in regional and urban development planning and administration in developing countries. |
| Course language | English |
| Entry requirements |
Requirements for DAAD scholarships:
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| Degree Awarded | Master of Science |
| Course Begins | Every year in October |
| Course Duration | 24 months |
| Course Structure | SPRING Module Handbook |
| Duration of German language course prior to beginning of programme | The programme will commence in the following year on 1 September with the German language course. The SPRING course begins in the second week of October. |
| Remarks | A SPRING course covers two years. During the first year, students will study at the TU Dortmund University in Germany with a focus on theories and methods of regional development. In the second year, students are free to choose a specific focus and continue their studies at one of the SPRING network partners.
The first SPRING year is organised into three phases simulating an ideal planning cycle (analysis, planning and implementation). Each phase converges into a workshop integrating the various subjects of the programme. The second year concentrates on the specific focus of the network partner and on fieldwork, which provides the input for the Master’s thesis. |
